Canyon de Chelly Visitor Center
Well within the borders of the Navajo Nation in Arizona, Chinle was our final destination to see the great southwest ruins. After miles and miles of red sand and dust devils, we arrived in Chinle. Grabbing a bite at a local restraunt, we went into the canyon. We had decided to visit White House Ruins. Though in the land of the Navajo, White House was built by the Anasazi. There are several ways to get to the canyon floor for a visit. Hire an expensive 4x4 to drive you down a bumpy road, horses can carry you down a the same road for a little less or do like we did and hike from the rim down the White House Trail. Not for the faint of heart! Though it's all downhill, it's quite a hike. It is however, scenic and well worth the time spent sweating your butt off (and you will) getting there.
White House sign
The ruins are called White House due to its white stone finish. It had 60 rooms and housed about 100 people. They were an aguarian people, farming corn, beans, squash and cotton on the canyon floor below . They also produced pottery and fine cloth. Though disappointed that the site was surrounded in barbedwire, it was still something to see. After taking a good rest and hydrating, I headed back up. Larry left me in the dust, but that was ok. I was enjoying the scenery. When I finally crested the rim, huffing and puffing, I met up with Larry, took a seat and looked out across the canyon from which I'd come. Man, that's a long way down! From there we checked out Spider Rock, a behemoth 800ft. tall spire of orange rock reaching from the canyon floor. Mighty impressive the natural beauty of this place. After buying a few trinkets, we headed down the road and back into New Mexico where we spent our last night.
